Alex Ovechkin will play play his first game of the preseason Thursday against the Boston Bruins, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed.
“I’m excited to see him tonight and get out there and get a game under his belt, and start to get some of those game reps, game touches,” Carbery said. “With [Opening Night] a week away, I think this is a good time. It gives him a couple of opportunities to get into games and a few practice days to get ramped up for Wednesday.”
Ovechkin was one of 13 forwards listed on the Capitals’ game roster the night before, as was Sonny Milano, who had been rehabbing an upper-body injury suffered three days ago but is expected to suit up on Thursday as well. Milano leads the team with four goals and six points this preseason.
Per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Ovechkin will skate on a line with Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ilya Protas, with Little Pro at center.
The 40-year-old Ovechkin has missed the team’s four previous exhibition games this fall after suffering a lower-body injury on the first day of training camp. Carbery told reporters last week he wanted the team captain to get into two games ahead of Opening Night on October 8.
“Is it the end-all, be-all for him to play two exhibition games? No,” Carbery said then. “But the ideal world is he gets two games before the start of the year.”
The home matchup, the team’s first at Capital One Arena this preseason, will be another big opportunity for players on the bubble to make a big impression on Carbery and Capitals management. Players suiting up on Thursday include Sheldon Rempal, Andrew Cristall, Hendrix Lapierre, Ethen Frank, Ilya Protas, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Eriks Mateiko, and Vincent Iorio.
